Tag Archives: mushroom barley points plus

What a weekend! We celebrated my sister’s 40th birthday party on Saturday night. Her husband planned a surprise party, complete with a “roast” by a actor/performer. I think she downed 2 martini’s during the performance, but who’s counting! We had some great laughs (sorry Lou!) at her expense. But I felt great since I had 3 people, but who’s counting, ask me who was older, me or her. 🙂

For the record, I am.

And now I’d like to introduce you to my new favorite soup! I still can’t believe how easy it was to put together and how low the Weight Watcher’s Points are. Very hearty and satisfying, full of whole grain and vegetables.

Next time I will probably add another package (8oz) of sliced mushrooms, which would add another PointsPlus per serving.

Mushroom Barley Soup

1 cup barley

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 package of white button mushrooms, sliced

3 cans low sodium vegetable broth

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

2 T. fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 tsp. dried

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium pan, bring 4 cups of water and the 1 cup of barley to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the barley is soft. (You can make this the night before).

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Add the carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they are soft. Add the vegetable broth, water, bay leaves, and fresh thyme. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked barley and cook for 15 minutes.

Using the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder, this entire recipe has 27 PointsPlus. If you divided the pot into 8 servings, each serving would have 3 PointsPlus. Divided into 6, each serving would have 4 PointsPlus.